Reflection week #15

This class has been very enlightening for me. I learned a new definition for the word "journey" and how to love it. Along my journey I learned many new technologies that will enhance my teaching career. The uen.org site is a tremendous tool I will use when I do my lesson plans. I believe that children learn better when they are taught in many different learning styles. My favorite way to learn is the hands on approach. I like to see it, feel it, smell it, hear, it ect. There are many great tools such as kidspiration and education games to help with this task. When I was Elementary school age I watched Saturday cartoons. School house rock aired inbetween cartoons. I still remember conjunction, conjuction whats your function. For my generation this was a creative way of teaching. I could hear it and see it in an fun way. It is amazing how smell could add to teaching also. When I was in Kindergarten my class got cookies and milk with brown paper towels to wipe the crumbs. Thirty years later was my first day working at an Elementary school. When I went in the bathroom I noticed a smell that took me right back to Kindergarten. It was the brown paper towels. Amazing what smell can do. Someone should create a program that has smells. For instance one of the educational games I found while taking this class was a pirate game. The game could smell like the seashore because the pirates were on the seashore.
There are so many great opportunities for technology in education. My hope is that schools will be more accesible to the opportunities. A district in Utah recently had an incident with computers in a school. Two fifth graders typed a word the filter didn't recognize and saw porn. This is an incident that could keep more technology from the schools because of the controversy it has caused. I believe that technology takes education to great strides and should not be banned because of some mischief makers.
This past week as I learned about microsoft word and its templates, I marveled over this technology that makes our lives and jobs easier. This class is the bomb! At first I wondered if I would enjoy the journey because looking ahead it seemed overwhelming, but now looking back the journey has been a pleasant one. Sometimes we have to take classes and we wonder why? This class was very useful, I will use what I learned over and over.

Video: School House Rock: Nouns

This video brought me back to my childhood. Every Saturday morning my sisters and I got up early to watch cartoons. This video played inbetween cartoons sometimes. I loved it as a kid. I think the younger aged students K-2 would think it was cool but it might be a little old fashioned for the older kids. When the song talked about how the Beatles, Monkeys and Chubby Checkers were nouns, I wondered exactly what kids in this generation would think the song is talking about. Beatles and Monkeys would be passed off as a bug and animal, but Chubby Checkers, hum, maybe big,fat toy checkers!

Reflection: Power point

The book we used in class to create our power point activity was frustrating at first because the instructions didn't do what they were supposed to. Fortunately, we have great team work in our class. Another pod was trying to do the same thing and they found intructions in the back of the book that work. The instructions we needed were for microsoft powerpoint 2007. I hope in my teaching career I have the same kind of good kind people as in our class. I have seen first hand when teaching teams don't treat each other with kindness. One instance there was a new teacher who thought the team leader was purposly taking advantage of her. I was supposed to work evenly with both teachers as the aide. The new teacher felt the other teacher was taking me during her her alloted time. It caused quite a rift between the two. The principal even apologized to me for having to deal with it. As the outsider looking in, from my point of view is was all a misunderstanding.
Another team I saw struggling was in one of the lower grades. Two of the three teachers do the same thing each year. The third teacher hasn't been at the school as long and wanted to try a new thing. She wanted to have a program with the kids singing and a slide show at the end. She invited the other teachers to join. One didn't want to but felt like if she didn't she would look bad, so she unhappily joined and caused tears and frustration. The next year the teacher who wanted to do the program didn't know what to do because it is such a touchy subject with her team. She didn't know if she should just do it on her own and not tell the others or let them make a choice. The point is there were many frustrating, stressful moments for this team because of a lack of kindness or tolerance. I hope when I am the new one and join a team we can work well together like my classmates.

Video: Do you Believe in Me?

This video was very motivational for me. I even got a little choked up listening to it. Many times I hear the phrase being a teacher is a thankless job. Every teacher needs a boost every once in awhile. The kid is an amazing speaker. I am amazed at his composure, voice reflection, and lack of fear. This video brought to my realization just how much a teacher can impact students. When he said that for some a teacher is all we got. Wow! Powerful!! I think it should be a requirement for every district to provide a motivational assembly for teachers once or twice a year!

Bring on the Technology

What an amazing time to live! There are endless amounts of creativity an educator can use to help students thrive. I wonder what really makes a good teacher. I am now convinced using technology is an important step in becoming the teacher that I want to be. I am amazed each week as I take in the video of the week. The videos and this class have given me great knowledge of things I didn't know before. As I watched the video this week I wondered if any schools were using the technology the author promoted. I know Oprah uses Skype and it is a free service. I would love to see these tools actually used in the school setting. I feel like I have all these big dreams for my classroom but how much am I really going to be allowed to use. Where there is a will there is a way. It may not be a reality for each student to have their own computer but I will have one. Hopefully it will work with some applications to hook up to the projector, and do things together as a class.
Even young students are ready for technology. I work with a Kindergartener. Everyday we play a number game on the computer. I usually set the computer up for her but a few times she wanted to try to set it up. With a few instructions she set it up perfectly. She likes to explore with the computer. For instance she types the wrong numbers in the answer on purpose just so she can use the backspace button to erase it. She isn't the least bit afraid or intimidated by the computer and she is a tiny little thing. This generation is more than ready for technology tools. I sure hope we can give the technology to them. Education continues to get the axe with budget cuts! It will be up to us, as educators, to find ways to fund these tools. Maybe we could start a pilot program and compare results of the students that use technology tools vs old fashioned learning. If I am going to dream I may as well dream big. If it becomes too much of an obsticle someone should start a school that utilizes all the wonderful tools there are available out there.

Video: Three Steps

This video was fun to watch. I think the author is on to something. I loved the quote about how the students are learning when the teacher stops talking. I will have to remember that tip when I am a teacher. I also love the idea of global peers. I have always wanted to travel but don't have the time or money. My students could learn abouth other cultures without needing extra time or money. How awesome for my future students! This would give them a great opportunity to learn from others that are different than they are. I sure hope I get to see these great tools in my education career. Sometimes I worry that our classrooms will continue to look like the 1960's.

Video: The Connected Classroom

The connected classroom brings up the idea that we as teachers need to "connect" with our students. I love watching the old movies. Singing in the Rain with Fred Astair is one of my favorites. Sometimes it seems so much easier before all the technology yet this day and age is so exciting! I loved the comparison the video made to the juke box and the ipod. I am sure many people in the day of the juke box wouldn't believe such a thing as an ipod. Imagine trying to explain it to someone in that era. Teaching the rising generation has completely different techniques than those of our ancestors. "Connecting" our students will be important for their success. As a teacher I will strive to help my students be a success.

Kidspiration and Inspiration

This week was fun checking out Kidspiration and Inspiration. The site was easy to use, no perspiration needed! I really enjoyed kidspiration because it had so many fun things for kids and I proclaim to be a kid at heart. Kidspiration was definately inspired. One of the main things I hear from the teachers I work with is how they hate writing lesson plans for substitutes. With Kidspiration planning a lesson would be so much easier. Every math page was warm and inviting, which for math is exciting. A few weeks ago one of the teachers I work with was on a measurement unit. I thought about how fun it would have been to use the pages on Kidspiration where students measure things in the house. The graphics and color of the pages are very inviting for kids. When I was in Elementary School I had a hard time with math because my teacher didn't explain things very well. I got stuck on the alligator concept for less than and greater than. Anyway, looking at the basic concepts of math on Kidspiration would help my students understand better. I loved the sheet where it broke down the number in ten's and one's etc. It seems people either love math or hate it. I believe students hate it because they haven't been taught the best way for them. Everyone has different learning styles. Because I struggle with math I want my students to conquer it. Using these great programs such as Kidspiration will help in reaching this goal.
Another subject I really liked on Kispiration is Social Studies. There are some great maps that excite the senses. There are also some great games to see what you know about the branches of government. Knowing the branches of government and what they do will help students all the way up to High School. My own kids who have taken Citizenship and Government, a required class to graduate, have to know what the different branches responsibilities are. Now, High School students can look to their younger brothers and sisters, who have an amazing, engaging teacher that uses Kidspiration in the classroom.
Another thing I liked about Kidspiration are the charts that you can create and the clip art that is available to you. Inspiration had some neat features for creating charts, like the fire button (I think that is what it was called)that creates several caption circles. I wish I could play around with the programs longer. I am sure I just touched the surface. Thanks to those who were inspired to create Kidspiration and Inspiration!